I can always help you
by FanWriter02
Summary: "Are you okay?" Hiccup let out a shaky laugh, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. A little air sick I guess." He lied... Hiccup had never been good at lying, and now was no different. Hiccup's leg hurts and Astrid helps him. One-shot. Rated K. No swearing. Hiccstrid.


**Fanfiction Readers: *sighs* "Another one-shot!?"**

 **Me: *hides in corner with laptop* "Sorry everyone I just can't help myself!"**

 **Haha here you go guys. Another one-shot. I'm having so much fun writing these! XD**

 **Just so everyone knows- this takes place around the Dawn of the Dragon Racers time line- when they're older. So when they're like eighteen I'm thinking. Just in case you were wondering. :)**

A black bullet shot through the sky, nothing but a streak against the blue sky. One would think it was nothing but a black shooting star, until it unfolded its ebony wings, gliding in and out of the clouds. There was a teenage boy on his back, whooping in enjoyment as the wind whipped against his face, his hair flying all around. The Night Fury cocked his head, smiling as he witnessed his rider's happiness.

"WHOO HOO!" Hiccup shouted as Toothless turned upwards, pounding his wings as they slowly climbed higher and higher. Then, Toothless stopped, turning completely upside down as they fell towards the sea below.

YEAH BABY!" Hiccup cried out in excitement as Toothless fell, opening his wings at the last second. Toothless cooed in contentment. There was nowhere else he'd rather be, then here on the outskirts of Berk, flying with his best friend.

Hiccup smiled down at Toothless, leaning forward to rub his hand against Toothless's head. The dragon cooed yet again, making the guttural noise deep in his throats. Hiccup sighed, pushing the petal down making it so Toothless turned, heading back towards Berk.

Hiccup locked the tailfin, removing his prosthetic from the pedal, then fell back, laying down flat on his back on Toothless. He sighed again as he watched the clouds in the sky pass lazily. Hiccup felt the worried coo Toothless gave, and lifted his hand to pat the dragons back.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Toothless. A little tired, I guess." Toothless cocked his head again, eyeing Hiccup suspiciously. He cooed again before turning back around to face the island that was growing closer and closer.

Hiccup closed his eyes. In all honesty, he wasn't feeling "fine" as he'd told Toothless. His leg- or what was left of it- ached terribly. He earnestly hoped it wasn't another phantom pain, because those were always anything but fun.

Toothless passed one of the large stone statues that stood out in the bay. Hiccup winced as he straightened in the saddle, placing his prosthetic back into the pedal. He then reached down and unlocked the tailfin.

Hiccup pushed the pedal down so Toothless could land in the square, but groaned when he did so. The pain was turning from dull throbbing to sharp stabbings every time he moved it. Toothless glanced back worriedly, silently asking Hiccup if he was alright.

Hiccup exhaled deeply when they landed, relieved he didn't have to man Toothless's tailfin any longer. "Don't worry, bud. My leg aches a bit…" Hiccup said quietly to Toothless, not wanting any of the other Viking's to hear. Hiccup thought about getting staying on Toothless, and just riding him to his house, but decided that might look rather strange, since he rarely did that. So, he forced himself to climb off. As soon as his prosthetic touched the ground he squeezed his eyes tightly, holding his breath so he wouldn't cry out.

Toothless nudged him gently, but didn't move, allowing Hiccup to hang tightly onto the saddle as he stood there. Hiccup finally exhaled and opened his eyes, keeping his eyes fixed on the ground.

"Hiccup!" Astrid called out, walking up to him. "I've been looking all over for you. Stormfly hurt her wing a bit, so has been staying on ground all day. I was hoping to go for a flight with-" she stopped when she noticed Hiccup's face, his brow creased in pain. "Are you okay?" she asked stepping forward, Toothless between the two. Toothless looked from one to the other as the two looked at each other over his back.

Hiccup let out a shaky laugh, "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. A little air sick I guess." He lied. He let go of Toothless's saddle, but reached forward to grip it again. His legs felt like straw, and his left one felt like it was burning. It was a sharp pain that raced all the way up his thigh and into his back. He tried to look nonchalant at Astrid.

 _Please let her buy it. Please let her buy it_. He really didn't want to worry her, or anyone for that matter. He was strong, he could deal with this.

Astrid didn't believe him. She was too good at reading him. She could instantly tell if he was lying or not, and it was something Hiccup did not like at times. Sometimes it was handy to have a mind reader like that- like back when they'd been battling Alvin and the Outcasts, it had come in very handing with communicating without saying a word. Astrid could tell what he was trying to tell her in a single look… for the most part any way. If she panicked, that's when she lost that amazing gift of hers.

"Hiccup, I can tell somethings wrong." Astrid said firmly, "Come on. Spill." She crossed her arms, eyeing him suspiciously.

It took all of Hiccup's strength to release Toothless's saddle, urging him to move forward. The dragon did, but immediately turned around to watch Hiccup in case he needed something to hang onto again. Hiccup stood, almost all his weight entirely on his good leg. He smiled at Astrid,

"See? Peachy. Totally normal. Nothing to wor-" Hiccup gasped as the pain came stabbing again, and he felt his legs go out from underneath him as all his strength left him- all in one swift moment.

"Hiccup!" Astrid shouted, rushing forward to catch him before he crumpled to the ground. Toothless also jumped forward, cooing, and nudging his rider, sounding panicked.

Hiccup was gasping and wheezing as he tried to breath. The pain came again, and he whimpered hoarsely. He pushed his face against Astrid's chest, trying to stop the noise from escaping him.

Astrid's voice was filled fear, "Hiccup? What's wrong what hurts?"

Hiccup stifled another cry as the pain came fiercer then before. He clutched onto Astrid's arm tightly, trying to will the pain away.

"HICCUP!? Answer me!" Astrid's voice was loud, demanding, and terrified. She pulled him away from her, holding him by both shoulders. "What HURTS?"

Hiccup knew that fighting Astrid anymore would be pointless. She would just continue to pester you until you give up and tell her what is wrong. So, he just… gave in. He didn't have the strength to fight her anyways.

"M'leg." He mumbled, trying not to cry out. "The one… theisn't there… hurts…" Hiccup whimpered again, although he tried not to. He clung to Astrid even harder, and she allowed him by pulling him close, his cheek against her shoulder.

"Oh, Hiccup. I'm so sorry. Here- Toothless, come here. We need to get him home. He can't just lay here on the ground-"

Lying down _anywhere_ sounded welcome to Hiccup. In all honesty, he didn't want to move.

"N-no Astrid-" Hiccup choked. "Stay… hurts…" he whimpered again.

Toothless moved closer, nudging Hiccup's hand in concern. Hiccup let go of Astrid long enough to pat him reassuringly. But then the pain intensified all the more, and Hiccup gripped onto Astrid tightly again, squeezing his eyes shut. He was so hot too. The last he checked, it was warm out, but nowhere near warm enough to make somebody sweat like he was.

He was biting his lip so hard he tasted blood. He wanted to scream… so badly… but he didn't want to scare Astrid more then she already was.

"I know it hurts, Hiccup. But you can't lay here. You're shaking life a leaf."

Funny, then why did he feel so hot?

Great, he must have a fever.

He felt himself being lifted in to the air, and blinked his eyes open to see Astrid gripping him tightly, helping him stand. He cried out when pressure was placed on his bad leg, and his other one went out again.

"Sorry! Hiccup, can you just climb onto Toothless. No flying, just walking." Hiccup gasped as he nodded, still clinging to Astrid for dear life. He though himself across Toothless's saddle, and tried to lift his good leg over, but failed. Toothless turned his head and pushed Hiccup's behind, trying to shove him aboard.

Astrid rushed around to the other side, and pulled Hiccup aboard. He was leaning heavily against Toothless's neck, and was gasping for air, his eyes tightly squeezed shut again.

"Oh my, do you two need help?" a villager shouted from a doorway. Astrid climbed up behind Hiccup, pulling him up so he could lean against her chest. He leaned against her, although his body was tense. It was obvious he just wanted to curl up on the ground in his misery.

"No… we're fine now. Thanks anyways. Come on Toothless. Hurry." Toothless didn't hesitate. He started off at a fast pace towards the chieftains house on the hill. Hiccup groaned in discomfort at the sudden movement and jostling of his leg.

"Sorry, Hiccup. So sorry. We're almost there…" Hiccup groaned again, his hand leaving the saddle to grip his leg.

As soon as they reached the door Astrid jumped down, dragging Hiccup with her. The poor boy couldn't even stand, so she was forced to drag/carry him inside. Once inside the house, she inched her way towards the stairs, trying not to jostle Hiccup too much.

Getting him up the stairs would've been a lot of harder if Toothless hadn't entered. He helped push and shove the hurting boy up the stairs, each movement making Hiccup make some sound of discomfort.

Finally, they reached the top, and Astrid dragged Hiccup to the bed. He climbed in on his own, then curled into himself on his side, shaking with the chills and whimpering hoarsely. Astrid unbuckled his armor and pulled it off as quickly as possible. As soon as she'd unstrapped his arm and shoulder guards, he pulled his knee up to his chest, squeezing it tightly. He was so tense it was unbelievable.

Astrid hastily set the armor aside then pulled the blanket over Hiccup's shaking form. She really wished Stoick was there- she was sure he'd know what to do. But he was out who knew where cheifing. It would take hours to find him.

She was jolted out of her thoughts as Hiccup let out an almost scream that left him heaving and gasping for air. She jumped out of her seat, not sure what to do. What did she do? WHAT DID SHE DO?

What could she do? What could she do to relieve some of his agony? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She was helpless.

She leaned forward and whispered soothing words of comfort to the suffering Hiccup. She ran her hands through his hair, hoping to relieve his pain somewhat. It seemed to make him relax, which was a relief. He leaned his hot head against her cool hand. He was still shaking under the blanket, although his forehead was wet with sweat.

"Relax, Hiccup. It'll help alright? Just relax." Hiccup nodded ever so slightly, his eyes no longer clenched shut. Soon, his breathing evened out, and his shivering stopped. Soon he was sleeping restlessly, but sleeping none the less. It was good for him to sleep- especially with his fever.

Toothless stepped forward and lay his large head on the bed beside Hiccup. The dragon sat down, his head still resting on the wooden frame. He looked totally relaxed, although Astrid could tell he was watching Hiccup carefully for anything that might indicate he needed help.

Astrid leaned back in the chair, still holding Hiccup's warm hand in hers. She gave it a little squeeze to reassure him that she was still there.

His eyes blinked open, and he looked at her through dazed, fever bright eyes. He double blinked, as though trying clear his vision.

Astrid smiled slightly and said reassuringly. "Never hid something like this again, okay? I can always help you."

Hiccup smiled before his eyes drifted shut again, and he fell into a peaceful slumber, grateful to have as good a friend as Astrid.

… and maybe more than friend..?

 **Thanks for reading everyone! As usual, please review! Love to know what you all think. I apologize for any typos I might've missed. :)**

 **-FanWriter02**


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